composition for bass instrument by Giacinto Scelsi
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Score for Scelsi Quattro Pezzi Per OrchestraDescrição completa
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Analysis of Quartetto No 4 by Giacinto Scelsi David Pocknee
In Giac Giacin into to Scel Scelsi’ si’ss four fourth th Strin String g Quar Quartet tet (1964) (1964) Scelsi Scelsi consol consolida idates tes many many of the techni techniues ues !ioneered in his "orks of the late 19#$s and early 196$s% includin& the use of sustained focal !itches' the use of timre as eually im!ortant com!ositional !arameter and the use of microtonality all features one can find in "orks from his &roundreakin& Quatre Pezzi (sul una nota sola) on"ards* In Quar focal !itche !itches' s' timre timre and microton microtonali ality ty all featur feature' e' ut one of the most Quartet tetto to No. 4 focal interestin& as!ects of the "ork is the "ay in "hich Scelsi comines these as!ects to create form' !hrasin& and harmony* harmony* Focal Pitches +rom +rom the 19#$s 19#$s on"ard on"ardss Scelsi’ Scelsi’ss "ork "ork used used drone, drone,lik likee focal focal !itche !itchess instead instead of conven conventio tional nal harmony* harmony* -hese focal focal !itches !itches !rovided !rovided oth form form and and !hrase !hrase structure* structure* Phrases "ere created created throu&h the estalishin& of focal !itch' follo"ed y either. a semitonal or microtonal movement a"ay from that focal !itch or • micoronal clusterin& around the focal !itch • -hese "ere al"ays follo"ed y a return to the ori&inal focal !itch or a different one*
-his techniue can also e seen in Quartetto No 4' 4' "here this microtonal or semitonal semitonal movement around a focal !itch is key to creatin& !hrase structure* -he movement. focal !itch non focal !itch focal !itch mirrors the classical. consonance dissonance consonance or' tension release !hrasin& archety!es* Form +orm in Quartetto No 4 is 4 is defined y focal !itches' !itch ran&es and harmony* In the dia&ram elo"' the focal !itches of the !iece are !lotted out* +rom the dia&ram over the !a&e it is !ossile to see ho" the focal !itches in the !iece create an arc,like form for the !iece*
+i& 1* +ocal Pitches for Quartetto No 4
-his arc form is also a feature of the !itch,ran&es used throu&hout the !iece' as the notes in the !iece are normally clustered around the main focal !itches* /nother im!ortant as!ect aout the "ay the focal !itches function is related to the "ay in "hich they interact* -he !iece consists of t"o or three layers of focal !itches at any one time* /t the start of the !iece' there are t"o layers "hich reinforce each other' startin& on c uarter flat*in t"o octaves (ars 0,1#)* +i& 0* -"o layers of focal !itches at the start of the !iece (ars #,9)* -he uarter flat a!!ears in t"o otaves' these are the startin& !oints from "hich the !iece ranches out into three layers* In this e2am!le there is also an e2am!le of ho" Scelsi uses microtonality to create !hrasin&. -he viola moves from uarter flat to natural and ack a&ain' creatin& tension follo"ed y release*
+rom this !oint on"ards' the three layers &ain &ro"in& inde!endence' often movin& in ascendin& lines of microtonal clusters (see ars 9#,13#)* -he increasin& autonomy of the layers creates conflicts et"een focal !itches of different !itch classes' a tension "hich Scelsi e2!loits to dramatic ends* In the middle of the !iece (ars 3,13#)' Scelsi uses the tension et"een the t"o focal !itches of 5 and and later uses D and + (ars 194,0$3) "hich creates an odd im!lication of a D minor tonality near the end of the !iece* /s the !iece !ro&resses Scelsi increases the intervals et"een notes in each of the layers so that' "hilst the e&innin& of the !iece u! to ar 03 only uses intervals of a semitone or less' y ar 3$,34 the centre layer uses intervals of a ma7or third and' at the very end (ars 00,009) the cello can e seen !layin& tremolos of a !erfect fourth*
+i& 8* om!arison of ars 00' 3$ and 00*0,003 and the intervals used* a) otice the uarter of a semitone interval in the second eat in the second and ottom systems* ) otice the ma7or third interval et"een the 6th and th systems* c) otice the !erfect fourt tremolo in the th system*
It has een "ritten that' like /nahit' this !iece uses the Golden Section as a formal tool* :o"ever' on closer ins!ection' the Golden Section should occur at ar 140' an indistin&uishale ar in the middle of a !hrase* +i& 4* ;athematical Golden Section (ar 140) notice ho" the / flat (suare) and / uarter flat (circle) focal !itches continue from ar 141' meanin& that very little chan&es in terms of harmony.
Calculations -he "hole !iece is in the time si&nature < a!art from five ars. 184 in 4=4' 18# in 0=4 1$ in 0=4 014 in 4=4 01# in 0=4
-akin& these ars into acount the Golden Section "ould e. >ars 1,081 (in <) includin& all ars in other time si&natures ? (006 2 8) @ 4 @ 0 @ 0 @ 4 @ 0 ? 690 690=$*613$88939 (Golden Section) ? 140*# :o"ever' at ar 1#3 there is a clear audile chan&e that seems like a formal marker* /lthou&h this is not the mathematical &olden section ' it is close ($*63$686 not $*613$A)* ould it e that Scelsi took artistic license in the location of his &olden sectionB Perha!s' ut "hat is interestin& is that' althou&h ar 1#3 seems to indicate an im!ortant formal chan&e "hile ar 140 does not' the ma! of +ocal Pitches on !a&e 0 indicates that the !eak of the arc,like formal structure of the !iece is around ar 140* +i& #* /t ar 1#3 a clear chan&e occurs* otice ho" the chord of three uarters flat' natural' D' + natural and + shar! is a clear chan&e from the !revious ar in "hich only + shar!' natural' uarter flat' + uarter flat and + natural* -his chan&e is further hi&hli&hted y the simultaneous !layin& of the chord y all the instruments and the sudden 7um! in re&ister in the ello and viola*
-he reason for the five ars "ith different time si&natures is unclear as the !iece is "ithout a clear !ulse and' althou&h this could e due to &estural reasons' in other !laces in the "ork im!ortant moments are not al"ays set on the first eat of the ar* Microtonality ;icrotonality is used in Scelsi’s "orks in several "ays. -o !rovide tension y creatin& microtonal clusters around a focal !itch* • +i& 6* >ar 3' microtonal clusterin& around and 5*
•
-o destailise focal !itches y either addin& a !itch a uarter of a semitone a"ay from the focal !itch (see fi& 0) or o o addin& a !itch a uarter of a semitone aove or elo" the octave aove or elo" the focal !itch* (see elo")
+i& * (ar 83) addin& a !itch (D uarter flat' to! system) a uarter of a semitone elo" the octave aove the focal !itch (D natural)*
Harmony Cne of the characteristic elements of this !iece as com!ared to Scelsi’s earlier "orks is the "ay in "hich the tension et"een different focal !itches creates harmony "hich contrasts to the normally used microtonal variations on the focal !itch and its euivalents at different octaves* Timbre :armonically' the most im!ortant timral characteristics that occur in the !iece are throu&h the contrastin& et"een sul ponticello and sul tasto !layin&* -he movement to sul ponticello contains more overtones' "hich Scelsi uses oth to stren&then e2istin& focal !itches classes y usin& the lo"er overtones to doule notes of the same !itch class in the octave aove* +i& * se of Sul Ponticello to reinforce e2istin& focal !itches (ars 1$9 ,111)
Phrase Structure Phrase structure in the !iece is created throu&h the estalishment of a set of situations that mirror the tension,release archety!e used in classical music* Release Tension / harmony in "hich a sin&le focal !itch is the -he clusterin& of notes around a focal !itch' only (or !redominant) note (in one or more octaves)* / harmony in "hich the numer of !itch classes Several !reviously estalished focal !itches is reduced to !itch classes "hich are at least a !layin& simultaneously* minor third a!art* Eeturn to !reviously estalished focal !itch* ;ovement a"ay from focal !itch*
Conclusion Scelsi’s !iece "orks y usin& focal !itches as !laces of rest and y creatin& tension throu&h. microtonally surroundin& focal !itches' • disru!tin& focal !itches y addin& microtones around the octaves aove or elo" the !itch' • !itchin& t"o or more tonal centres a&ainst each other or • microtonally variatin& from the focal !itch* •
-here are three se!arate lines of focal !itches "hich &ain &ro"in& autonomy as the !iece !ro&resses* -he strin& uartet acts as one instrument' freuently s"a!!in& et"een these lines* -his autonomy allo"s more conventional harmonic intervals to emer&e' such as the ma7or third "hich ecomes so dominant in the last half of the !iece* Cn a lar&e scale' form is created throu&h. the arcin& movement of oth focal !itches and !itch ran&es* • the &radual increase of the intervals used "ithin each layer* • -he &ro"in& autonomy of the layers* • Cn a smaller scale' feelin&s of tension and release caused y the reinforcin& or destailisin& of a focal !itch or !itch class !rovide the !hrasin& of the !iece*